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Newsletter No. 144, June 2013Published by the New Zealand Ecological Society (Inc.), P.O. Box 5075, Papanui, Christchurch 8542
INSIDE:NZES Awards—call for nominations .......................... 2
EcoTas13 Conference update .................................... 2
Articles
Ecological impact assessment guidelines for NZ ................. 4
Linking people to place with creative space ..................... 4
Conference Reports
NZ Plant Conservation Network .............................. 5
Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution ...................... 7
Hauraki Gulf Forum ................... 8Book review
Moa: the life and death of NZ’s legendary bird ............. 9
Regular Features
Council news ........................... 10 A voice for Ecology Recent NZES submissionsPostgrad Profile ...................... 12Ecotones ................................. 12Noticeboard ............................. 17Upcoming Meetings ................ 18
List of Office Holders......... 19
FROM THE EDITOR
Nominations for this year’s NZ Ecological Society awards are due on 1 July 2013. Many ecologists have made outstanding contributions to the study and application of ecological science. However, the NZES Council relies on members to nominate deserving people for these awards. So get thinking, write your nominations, and email them to George Perry by 1 July (see p. 2 for details). This year’s joint NZ Ecological Society and Ecological Society of Australia conference (EcoTas13) will be held in Auckland, and is shaping up to be a memorable event (p. 2). In addition to the standard events (talks, posters, student day and fi eld trips), the conference will include workshops and a photo competition. It will also include a novel session for presentations given in alternative formats (e.g. poetry and musical presentations), which I’m sure will be entertaining. Abstracts are due by 28 June 2013. Conference details are available at http://ecotas13.org/.
ILLUSTRATE ECOLOGY
Originally from England, Perch (Perca fl uviatilis) were widely released in New Zealand in the 1870s. They can be distinguished from other freshwater fi sh species by the two dorsal fi ns. Perch have six or more dark bands along their sides, and bright red-orange at the bottom of the caudal, anal and pectoral fi ns. Perch prefer slow-moving and still water habitats and are carnivorous, with adults eating mainly other fi sh. Perch reduce the abundance of common bullies, inanga, smelt and crayfi sh in lakes where they have been introducedCaption source: NIWA Fish Atlas online http://www.niwa.co.nz/freshwater-and-estuaries/nzff d/NIWA-fi sh-atlas/fi sh-species/perch.
Illustrated by Sonia Frimmel (see article p. 4).
Newsletter Editor: Debra Wotton. E-mail: [email protected] and design: Jeremy Rolfe
The deadline for submissions for the next issue of this newsletter is Friday 6 September 2013.
2 Ecological Society newsletter 144, June 2013
NZES ANNUAL AWARDS 2013 — CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
TE TOHU TAIO – AWARD FOR ECOLOGICAL EXCELLENCE Nominations are invited for the Te tohu taiao award (formerly NZES award). This award is presented annually to recognise individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the study and application of ecological science. The award is made to the person(s) who have published the best original research in ecology of New Zealand, and its dependencies (including the Ross Dependency) or person(s) who have made the most outstanding contribution to applied ecology particularly conservation and management.
NB. This award used to be presented to members only, but a council decision in 2006 supported the recommendation to make non-members eligible.
Please email any nominations for this award to George Perry, [email protected], by 1 July 2013. Nominations must include a statement of support, which will be considered by the NZ Ecological Society council.
NZES ECOLOGY IN ACTION AWARD This award was established to recognise individuals who are achieving excellence and best practice in the promotion of ecology, including communication, education and transfer of ecological science at the grass roots. The Society would like to recognise work of individuals achieved in promoting ecology and education at a local government level, with landowners, community groups, politicians and councils. This award is for individuals, whose role is primarily the transfer of ecology and research, but who are not necessarily involved in pure ecological research. This award reflects one of the primary aims of the society that includes promotion of the study of ecology and the application of ecological knowledge in all its aspects. The society also recognises that the transfer of ecological knowledge at a community and local government level is important in changing behaviours and achieving practical protection and restoration of biodiversity, particularly of our threatened lowland ecosystems.
The Society offers recipients: 1. $500 contribution towards attending the next NZ Ecological Society Conference; 2. $500 prize to the recipient.
Recipients of the award are invited to present a paper at the next annual NZ Ecological Society Conference. The work can also be given profile via a media item, or highlighted in the NZ Ecological Society newsletter. Nominations for this award should include a statement of support and will be considered by the NZ Ecological Society’s council, and should be emailed directly to George Perry, [email protected], by 1 July 2013.
HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP Honorary life memberships are conferred from time to time to recognize excellence and longstanding service in the study or application of ecological science in New Zealand. Nominations should be presented to council, seconded and must include statements of support. The selection committee will consider candidates’ eminence in the scientific field and contribution to original research or the application of such research in New Zealand and the extent of their association with the Society.
Please email any nominations for this award to George Perry, [email protected], by 1 July 2013. Nominations should also include a statement of support.George Perry NZES Council Awards Convenor [email protected]
ECOTAS13 CONFERENCE UPDATE
Celebrating ecology on both sides of the Tasman: diversity and opportunityWe invite you to attend the latest joint conference held between the Ecological Society of Australia and the New Zealand Ecological Society to celebrate advances in ecological science, and the ecological connections and differences between the two countries. The conference will create a critical forum on ecology for researchers, managers and policy
Ecological Society newsletter 144, June 2013 3
makers, and we urge ecologists covering the full range of ecosystems, life forms, approaches, and scales to attend and highlight their valuable contributions.
Conference details are available on the website at www.EcoTas13.org. Registrations for the conference will open on 21 June.
Call for AbstractsWe are currently accepting abstracts for EcoTas13. Please submit abstracts at http://ecotas13.org/abstracts/abstract-submission/. Abstracts close on 28 June, 2013.
Three main presentation types will be catered for at the conference: oral presentations (12 minute talk + 3 minutes for questions), speed talk (4 minutes talk + 1 minute changeover), and poster presentations. This year we are also running a session catering for presentations given in alternative formats (e.g., poetry, or musical presentations, etc.). Please consider giving this type of contribution.
We are also asking for expressions of interest in running workshops in association with the conference. If you are interested in running a workshop, please email [email protected] for more information before 28th June.
Confirmed keynote speakers• Prof Chris Thomas (University of York) – Impact of climate change on ecosystems• Prof Tom Kompas (ANU) - Natural Resource and Environmental Economics• Prof Don Cowan (University of Pretoria) – Antarctic Ecology• Prof Richard Duncan (University of Canberra) – Biological Invasions and Extinctions• Assoc Prof John Ogden – Forest and Conservation Ecology• Prof Ian Jamieson (University of Otago) – Conservation Genetics• Winner of the 2013 Australian Ecology Research Award.
SymposiaConfirmed symposia for the conference are: 1. Ecosystem development and retrogression on both sides of the Tasman2. Invasive species in a changing world: theoretical and applied perspectives3. Monitoring restored and remnant vegetation in agricultural landscapes: What ecosystem services do they provide?4. Understanding socio-ecological systems for effective conservation.5. The ongoing evolution of predictive ecosystem-scale ecological modeling6. Using genetic data to study ecological patterns and processes across landscape7. New frontiers in elevated CO2 impacts on terrestrial ecosystems8. Microbial ecology9. Ecological management of urban landscapes: a cross-Tasman perspective10. eResearch in ecology: a new paradigm11. Antarctic ecology12. The future of forests in Australasia: impact of Phytophthora on plant composition and ecosystem functioning13. Functional community ecology: trait-based approaches to the paradox of community assembly14. Insects and climate change15. Ecosystems and economics16. Back to fundamentals: linking Indigenous and western ecologies
Other eventsA student day will be held on Sunday 24 November prior to the main conference and a full suite of field trips is currently being prepared with most running on Friday 29th November. There will also be an ecology-themed photographic competition run in conjunction with the conference. Details of these events will run on the conference website shortly.
The Local Organising Committee is working hard to develop an excellent and noteworthy conference for the potential delegates and look forward to seeing you in Auckland in November.Bruce Burns, Conference Co-convenor
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ARTICLES
EIANZ: ECOLOGICAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES FOR USE IN NEW ZEALANDJudith Roper-Lindsay
A team of ecologists* in the New Zealand Chapter of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand is preparing a set of guidelines for carrying out ecological impact assessment in New Zealand, based on the draft currently available on the Institute’s web-site (www.eianz.org). Currently nine authors are working on an initial draft document which will undergo a period of peer review, workshops and consultation in spring 2013. The aim is to finalise the EIANZ Guidelines by the end of the year.
The project arose in 2008-2009 when ecologists working on both side of the Tasman identified problems with making consistent and rigorous ecological assessments in different environments, states, regions and districts; this in turn led to inconsistent decision-making in planning, and unsatisfactory outcomes for biodiversity. The draft EIANZ Guidelines issued in 2010 provide useful background on ecological considerations, but are not directly applicable under the Resource Management Act 1991. This updated guidance addresses New Zealand environments and legislation more specifically. It also introduces a section on ethics and practice, to assist ecologists to deal with the challenges of being professionals.
The EIANZ Guidelines will address issues around: professional ethics and conduct; project scoping, carrying out site work, assessing effects, mitigation and monitoring, presentation of findings, and preparation of reports. Terrestrial and freshwater environments are being covered initially; guidelines for assessments in coastal marine areas may follow. It is intended that they will be used by a wide range of ecologists and planners in consultancy, local and central government, research, and universities or colleges.
There will be opportunities for NZES members to input or comment on the draft later in the year. Anyone with a strong interest in being involved can contact Judith Roper-Lindsay ([email protected]) or any of the other contributing authors.
*authors: Judith Roper-Lindsay, Ian Boothroyd, Stephen Fuller, Caroline McParland, Robin Mitchell, Justine Quinn, Mark Sanders, Graham Ussher, Geoff Walls.
LINKING PEOPLE TO PLACE WITH CREATIVE SPACESonia Frimmel, What’s the Story
Inspired by a life-long love of the outdoors, Waikato-based artist and writer Sonia Frimmel has built a career capturing New Zealand’s natural environment in words and pictures. She has her own interpretation planning and design company, but she fell into this line of work a bit by accident. “I trained as a nurse and spent some years out of New Zealand and worked at an Outward Bound school... When it was time to come home I didn’t want to go back to work in a hospital, so went to Lincoln University to do a Diploma in Parks and Recreation. I ’d never heard of interpretation at that stage— I just wanted a job where I could spend time in the hills!” … “I was hooked on interpretation from the first class. I loved the idea of being able to forge links between the landscape, its many stories, and the people who came to see or experience the place.” Interpretation offered an opportunity to mix all of Sonia’s interests—science, art, history, and conservation—and occasionally she does get field trips into the hills!
Clematis paniculata (illustrated by Sonia Frimmel).
Ecological Society newsletter 144, June 2013 5
While working for the Department of Conservation and producing signs and publications, Sonia often found it difficult to get the right images to illustrate the stories—and so dusted off the drawing skills that been dormant since she left high school. She recalls needing a photo of an obscure slug, though can’t recall why. “There were a few fuzzy old photos and some technical descriptions but no nice clear image, so I drew one. Someone saw that and asked me to draw a bat”. The challenge was that they wanted it to look “cute” as it was for an information pack going out to potential sponsors—the perpetual conundrum for those seeking commercial help to protect the obscure, the ugly or the under-rated. Things progressed from there and, over the years, she has developed a catalogue of over 400 line drawings—everything from bugs to birds, and flowers to fish—both native species and pesty introductions. Most of the illustrations are black and white or coloured line drawings but Sonia also creates vivid artworks in oil pastels—all with natural heritage themes.
Her work in heritage interpretation can be seen from Northland to Greymouth, from information panels in national parks and reserves, to brochures and information booklets in visitor centres and museums. “It’s great being able to work with such a variety of people and organisations and on so many themes—I’ve learnt a lot about some amazing places and projects. I’ve worked with community groups on very local ventures and on large scale projects involving many players—like the Whanganui River interpretation project.”
Interpretation is a bridge between people and place. It’s one creative tool that can be used to help convey scientific concepts, historical perspectives, ideas and issues in a digestable and, ideally, inspirational way. The right illustration in that context, to use a cliché, can speak 1000 words.
You can check out some of Sonia’s work on www.whatsthestory.co.nz or contact her at [email protected]
Tuatara (illustrated by Sonia Frimmel).
CONFERENCE REPORTS
THE 2013 NZ PLANT CONSERVATION NETWORK CONFERENCE IN AUCKLAND: A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVEFrances Schmechel
The conference kicked off on Thursday May 23 at a fantastic venue—the Auckland Botanic Gardens—with three concurrent workshops: plant identification, seed collecting, and plant propagation. Word had it the workshops were so popular they could have been filled twice over. At $35 including lunch it would have been a bargain at twice the price.
The evening ‘warm up’ social at the historic and congenial Brew on Quay across from Queens Warf (and ‘The Cloud’) was a great way to start things. According to the website, the pub owners pride themselves over their range of well crafted beer and nibbles—I’m a believer. This would be a bargain at two hundred times the price as it was ‘free’—one drink and all the food was included in the cost of registration. Hats off to the conference organisers who showed not only taste and flair, but also compassion for anyone travelling on their own coin (I suspect they donated a lot of time finding sponsors.)
Next came the main course with two days of talks, which were of an exceptional quality across the board. Also very popular with the punters was the single ‘stream of talks’—no concurrent sessions to agonize over.
The theme was ‘Are we there yet?’ I came away with a sense of an exciting and hopeful journey with some very talented and dedicated folks. Secondary themes that emerged were people and plants, and plant-animal interactions.
Key note talks on day one covered taxonomy and why it matters so much (it really does); an update on DOC’s prioritisation process for ecosystems and species (they’ve been combined); and the recent review and changes in threat rankings for all the vascular plants. (The good news—none were listed as having gone extinct. The bad news—a lot
6 Ecological Society newsletter 144, June 2013
more are listed as threatened. The good news—some of that is because of taxonomic revisions.) Ilse Breitwieser gave a preview of how the next generation of floras will be portable, nimble and smart enough for your phone.
A representative from Kew Gardens gave a presentation on the ambitious Millennium Seed Bank Partnership which aims to store 25% of world’s plant species seeds by 2050. At the Kew facility viability is regularly tested every five years (so far, so good—they have the technology sorted). You can look up the NZ seeds that are in the collection at the Kew facilities online. Very cool. Not only are the seeds collected and tested over time for viability, but they are a resource that can be used for research and other things. Hopefully this will see the launch of NZ as one of the active partners in this project. And as a partnership, the bulk of seeds may be stored in facilities in NZ with support from Kew.
I especially enjoyed two thought-provoking talks about natives outside their natural range. One suggested provided compelling reasons we may want to apply kaitiakitanga locally and treat NZ plants outside their native range as ‘exotics’. The other gave provided criteria to use in thinking about these native invaders and what to do about them. At first glance at odds with one another, but after further thought I’ve concluded these are potentially complimentary approaches.
There were also a whole slew of excellent talks ranging from who’s who among seed dispersers in the sub-alpine zone (keas are king, possums poo seeds into dark forests); threats to rare bryophytes from coal mining; kahikatea conservation and shallow ground water (they need it); the role of nurseries and landscaping in plant conservation (lots of very wonderful natives out there still underutilised and also some being misused), and native plants at the Auckland zoo.
In the zoo talk we got to have giraffes instead of graphs. During the course of the two days the secrets of several ‘confusograms’ were revealed satisfactorily making us all feel very intelligent. But to keep us humble we also puzzled with Debra Wotton over why some plants are rare—and in spite of a very well designed and executed study we still don’t know.
On day two Dame Anne Salmond took us on a fascinating journey into history of plants and humans as well as sharing challenges and inspiration including the Te Araroa Riparian Restoration vision of restoring 1000+ rivers by 2050.
Prof Dave Kelly gave a fast paced overview of plant-animal interactions, and reviewed how understanding has changed from concern about seed dispersal to more recent concerns about the extent of pollen limitation. He ‘cheered’ the silvereyes, as they do plants a great service. He also included fascinating snippets such as the case of ‘apparent competition’ where the decline of plants after a fire near Cass turned out to be because of snail habitat and predation, rather than direct competition between the plants.
Marie Brown gave a superb talk on biodiversity offsets, compliance rates, and what this all means for plant conservation. My take home message—there is still a lots of room for improvement here. Two talks on mangrove management generated discussion among the punters (and some wondered why neither speaker spoke about addressing the cause of mangrove spread).
The audience was also treated to interesting journeys into the practical challenges of plant conservation: lawn mowing weeds at a remote Molesworth Station ephemeral tarn; rabbits climbing ladders to attack a whole suite of highly threatened plant species tenuously clinging to survival on the top of a tiny limestone bluff in Otago; and some serious spraying as the key to the survival of baby Olearia adenocarpa on an island in the Rakaia River.
The conference talks closed with an inspirational presentation about Project Gold—a kowhai restoration project featuring the Otago Rail trail. All the talks were recorded and will be available on the web at www.allaboutauckland.com/search/?q=nzpcn.
The formal conference closed with the conference dinner where two funds were launched: the David Given Research Fund and an endowment fund for threatened plant conservation on-the-ground projects. There was a great buzz and energy at the post dinner auction—it was a crisp, professional, fun and fair affair. Almost $3,000 was raised for the new funds. The dinner, which included pre-dinner drinks and wine at the tables, was another great deal ($45).
This is the 10 year anniversary of NZPCN and one of the network’s goals is no extinctions. In Jeremy Rolfe’s presentation of the most recent review of plant threat status there were no extinctions listed! So the network can proudly tick that goal met so far.
Fieldtrip attendees at Mataia Farm, Kaipara Harbour, home to mature mangrove forest (Photo: Debra Wotton).
Ecological Society newsletter 144, June 2013 7
The conference concluded for me with the Kaipara Harbour field trip. We started at a beautifully restored historic home with a Devonshire tea and an introduction about the scope of work being done (animal pest control, a QEII covenant, and recently released kiwi). This was followed by a great, if at times slightly muddy, walk through the working farm. We enjoyed exploring a local estuary, several types of regenerating forest including kauri, fernbirds, and shorebirds. The fruits of successful rat control were evident in the abundant regeneration of nikau palms and the ungnawed seeds of matai. We were lucky with the weather, in spite of the forecast for rain—we had clouds clearing with a beautiful afternoon. Again—a very affordable $35 including lunch.
Mataia Farm has extensive saltmarsh habitat bordering the Kaipara Harbour, with a healthy population of rare endemic fernbirds (Photo: Debra Wotton).
I greatly appreciate the energy and work that John Sawyer, Sarah Beadel, and others put into organising and running the entire conference. From a participant’s perspective things went very smoothly, it was a huge success, and I would highly recommend future NZPCN conferences to those interested in plant conservation.
CANADIAN SOCIETY FOR ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION CONFERENCE 2013Nicola Day, PhD Candidate at University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada
The 2013 Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution conference was held at the Okanagan campus of the University of British Columbia in Kelowna, British Columbia, 12–16 May. I flew cross country from Ontario and it was fantastic to see real mountains again! Two 5 hour workshops were run on the Sunday to kick the conference off. Brian Ohsowski and I ran the “Introduction to R” workshop for all those people still stuck in SAS (why this program is still used is beyond me!). Ashley Shade and Miranda Hart ran the concurrent workshop introducing people how to analyse the large amount of data from the ever-growing techniques of next generation sequencing that ecologists commonly use to investigate microbial communities.
All the talks and posters were a very high standard and I am refreshed and inspired (well, maybe I’ll be more refreshed after I get some sleep!). Pierre Legendre won the 2013 President’s award and he did an excellent talk on investigating beta diversity over landscapes. I thoroughly enjoyed this talk and it was an honour to meet him in person since I am constantly referring to his book, “Numerical Ecology” (incidentally, there was a new edition just last year and the topic of his talk was from chapter 14). The plenary was by Fred Allendorf, who is a conservation geneticist. His talk was also excellent and was a discussion of the minimum population size required for a species to not go extinct. There was a New Zealand theme here, because he has worked with Ian Jamieson and spent some time talking about the kakapo and how this theoretically should be extinct under traditional theories surrounding minimum population sizes. NZ also appeared later in the day in Tony Sinclair’s talk about effective restoration of habitats and ecological function. I felt very invigorated by these talks because they emphasised the high quality of NZ ecological research and its global relevance.
With about 400 attendees it was a good sized conference with a relaxed feel making it easy to meet people and reminding me of NZES conferences. A real highlight for me was the all-day symposium on plant-microbe interactions because my PhD is focussed on root fungal endophytes in an invasive plant species (Vincetoxicum rossicum). It was great to have a bunch of enthusiastic people talking about such diverse research in this relatively young area of community ecology. Other sessions I enjoyed included invasive species, community ecology and quantitative methods in ecology; I was surprised by how popular this session was and how understandable the talks were.
8 Ecological Society newsletter 144, June 2013
View of Osoyoo desert from Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre.
Field trips were run on the last day and I went to the Osoyoo desert and saline lakes. Unfortunately the water table was too high for the lake colours to be apparent, and in this Central Otago-like environment I had to keep reminding myself that the abundant Ponderosa pines are not invasive here! The plethora of vineyards in the area made for a relaxed wine tasting event and a good time at the banquet on the last night. Thanks to Jason Pither and the rest of the organising committee. Can’t wait for next year in Montreal!
RESTORATION IN THE HAURAKI GULF—A WORKSHOP HOSTED BY THE CENTRE FOR BIODIVERSITY AND BIOSECURITY
University of Auckland, Monday 18 February 2013Mel Galbraith, Unitec
The Hauraki Gulf Marine Park was established under the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act (2000) to recognise and protect the significance of the natural and heritage resources within the Gulf, specifically ensuring protection of nationally significant ecological systems and access and enjoyment for people and communities. However, the Hauraki Gulf Forum’s 2011 State of Our Gulf report lists a raft of on-going anthropogenic impacts that continue to degrade the environmental quality of the Hauraki Gulf. The report also recognised the success of island and marine restoration activities that are producing positive outcomes. The aim of this workshop was to foster sharing of knowledge and collaboration between these restoration projects occurring within the Hauraki Gulf.
Attendees of the workshop represented ecological science, community groups and local government. The programme consisted of a range of presentations that provided updates on current status of projects, an exchange of information and experience and reported on current research. An intention of the gathering was also to facilitate networking to identify common needs and potential cooperative actions. Talks in the early part of the day established clearly the ecological significance of the Hauraki Gulf—the islands of the Park are refuges for about a quarter of New Zealand’s reptile species and one third of the seabirds. With the removal of feral mammals from over 20 islands, new and relict populations of indigenous biodiversity have moved into recovery mode. Reporting on restoration activities was a focus for the latter part of the workshop.
Throughout the day, the need for whole-community buy-in of the Gulf’s ecological and social values, and their management, was emphasised, and the workshop was hailed as an important mechanism for promoting these values to the wider community. Many attendees voiced their support for the workshop, so there are bound to be future workshops focusing on the Hauraki Gulf’s future. The convenor of the workshop was Dr Bruce Burns of the School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, immediate past-President of the NZES.
Okanagan valley near saline lake with Ponderosa pines.
Ecological Society newsletter 144, June 2013 9
BOOK REVIEW
MOA: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF NEW ZEALAND’S LEGENDARY BIRD
Reviewed by Laura Molles, Lincoln UniversityAuthor: Quinn BerentsonPublisher: Craig Potton Publishing, NelsonPublished: 2012ISBN: 978-1-877517-84-6 (hardcover)300 pp.
I was braced for disappointment. A book about moa? Hasn’t that been done? Aren’t musings from a producer of shows about “serial killers and human cannonballs” (among other things—I’m being unfl atteringly selective here) just going to leave me mildly annoyed and misinformed? Happily, the book was not what I expected. Rather than re-cataloguing results of scientifi c research from the arrival of Europeans onwards, this book delves into the trials, twists and tribulations of the western world’s introduction to the moa, as well as the quirky personalities responsible. Rivalries fl are, careers rise and fall, and many an ill-equipped, fair-skinned lad trained for the ministry traipses into the wild hinterlands, faces terrible peril, and fi nds salvation in the form of helpful natives. It’s all very adventurous.
Quinn Berentson frames the narrative, appropriately, as the unravelling of a great mystery; although the dramatic phrasing occasionally gets a bit out of hand, overall the writing and structure are eff ective and engaging. I may print and frame the bit about central Otago’s travelling cat salesman from page 266. The accompanying images are not fl ashy—and I’d seen some of them before—but are interesting, and nicely complement the historical ambience of the text.
The fi rst 185 pages of the book follow the story from 1835 to 1900, and along the way provide a nice introduction to this period of New Zealand history in general, especially if, like me, you’re from elsewhere and have never quite got around to reading up on it. The real stars of the show, however, are the scientists and explorers. Richard Owen and Gideon Mantell play the leading roles, and Berentson really relishes digging into their characters and bitter rivalry. They battle it out for decades, then pass the torch to Haast and Hector, who carry the story through the rest of the 19th century. It’s entertaining reading, and reminded me how fortunate we are to live in a time when science is so much less competitive and ego-driven.*
Around this point, the exploration of the characters involved becomes more superfi cial, which was probably my main disappointment with the book. I’d been drawn in by the characters, and suddenly they’d all died off . Perhaps the rivalries were less intense, or the personal lives of the people involved were, well, more personal. Whatever the cause, the 40 pages or so devoted to the 20th century were somewhat less engaging because the players were not as “fl eshed out” as they had been during the 1800’s narrative. However, it is in this stretch that the moa themselves began to be fl eshed out, based on a spate of spectacular paleontological fi nds during the 1900s.
The fi nal portion of the book focuses on what has been learned about moa, thanks largely to DNA analysis, in the last 10 years. Berentson summarises recent interpretations of the moa family tree, moa ecology, and of course their rapid extinction following human colonisation; for some readers, this will provide an easy way to catch up on what’s happened since the 2002 publication of Worthy and Holdaway’s blockbuster The Lost World of the Moa1.
In this section, Berentson also fi nally acknowledges an omission that had been bothering me throughout the book: surely some of the early questions about the great birds, for example whether they had ever co-existed with humans, could have been answered by Maori? I’d started to wonder if anyone had even bothered to ask. Although I was somewhat relieved to fi nd out they had been asked, this set of players in the moa story is presented almost entirely through the writings—and excavations—of European scientists. Perhaps this, like the less personal approach to the 1900’s material, is inevitable given the information that was available to Berentson.
Overall, I found this to be easy and enjoyable evening reading. Berentson held my attention, heightened my interest in (and knowledge of) New Zealand history, and taught me a fair bit about moa. I’ll probably draw on the book to liven up a few of my undergraduate lectures—after I’ve tracked down some of the source material. While citations are provided for direct quotes, the failure to list the many scientifi c papers that underlie the fi nal section of the book seems to me a substantial shortcoming. It didn’t, however, detract from Moa being a good read, and one that will be accessible and appealing to non-scientists with an interest in ecology or history—I’ll certainly recommend it to my dad the next time he’s visiting.
*If anyone knows of a font universally recognised to indicate sarcasm, please contact me.
Reference1 Worthy T. and Holdaway R. (2002) The lost world of the moa: prehistoric life of New Zealand. Canterbury University Press.
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NEWS FROM COUNCIL
A voice for ecology, natural resource management, and sound decision makingFleur Maseyk, NZES Vice President
In the last couple of months several members of NZES have prepared submissions1 on behalf of the society in regards reforms to the RMA. What follows is part update on recent submission activity and part a rallying cry as to the importance of NZES expressing its voice in issues of national importance—that is, the voice of a professional body of ecologists.Many times I have been told by people around me—all definitely older (when you grow up) and most often a bit more jaded (what you have yet to learn)—that life is but one big cyclic journey, full of peaks and troughs, and it is just a case of riding out the bad times, because the good times are sure to be coming back around. My immediate internal response to such wisdom is wondering whether perhaps I should: a) just stay in bed, or b) give up on analytical thinking until those golden days do actually roll back around.
My problem with the whole cyclic thing is, sometimes it can be a long wait lolling around in the trough of dark environmental times, and I’m not naturally inclined to patience. Sometimes a bit of “get up, stand up” is called for.
Take right now for example—surely an unhappy chapter in our environmental history by the standards of anyone. In recent times, there have been quite a few government decisions supported by a paper-thin rationale that have a direct impact on New Zealand’s natural environment, or the way in which New Zealander’s interact, manage, and benefit from that natural environment. It’s a classic case of environmental degradation by a thousand legislative and policy cuts.
Let us focus on just one example—and it’s a biggie. The reform of the Resource Management Act (RMA): a two phase process.
Phase one, was completed back in 2009 when the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Bill was passed into Act and Phase two was kicked off in December last year, when the Resource Management Reform Bill 2012 was introduced to Parliament. The justification for the reforms is placed squarely on the need to cut the red tape that the RMA allegedly throws in the way of progressing development2, and a less emphasised but nonetheless obvious link to the Government’s Growth Agenda3.
The 2012 Bill continues the rhetoric of the 2009 streamlining process, in particular for Auckland’s Unitary Plan, speeding up the granting of consents by imposing time limits on processing, and enabling easier direct referral to the Environment Court.
There are, however, other aspects of the RMA reforms that cannot be contained within the justification of expediency of consent granting or administrative improvements and these include substantive changes within Part II of the RMA.
Part II of the RMA contains the principals and purpose4 of the Act, and it is here that the concept of sustainable management of resources is fully embedded, underpinning all else that follows. Proposed reforms within Part II (to sections 6 and 75) seriously undermine the very heart of the Act.
The nature of the proposed reforms essentially shifts the RMA from a piece of environmental legislation to a piece of economic legislation, and does so in the absence of defendable justification, or indeed any sound policy analysis6. While there are some proposed reforms that will result in improved resource management and better ecological outcomes, the vast majority add up to the most radical and short-sighted reforms in over twenty years.
It’s time for some action!There are many ways to exert influence, chaining oneself to trees and placard waving just two. Another is to
respond with a clear, concise, evidence-based submission to the public engagement process. And as tempting as it was to get tee-shirts printed with I *heart* the RMA, it was the rational and referenced statement approach the Council took in representing NZES7.
The involvement of NZES in issues under public consultation8, such as the RMA reform process, is considered to be imperative on the grounds that:1. A core objective of the society is to promote the application of ecological knowledge in all its aspects; and2. To not submit would leave a void in the public debate where the informed ecological voice should be.Right about the same time as the resource management reform submission process was on the go, and with an equally tight turn-around period, a parallel process of public engagement on ‘Freshwater reform 2013 and beyond9’ was being run. Such excitement! We here at the NZES ‘submissions office’ could barely contain ourselves.
Happily, and in stark contrast to the RMA reforms, this discussion document contained much to be positive about and to lend the support of the Society to. In particular: the enabling of more integrated, targeted, and sustainable management of the fresh water resource within the RMA and the building on the good work of the Land and Water Forum (LAWF).
Ecological Society newsletter 144, June 2013 11
However, and just in case they missed the point the first time around, our second submission highlights that the proposed changes to Part II of the RMA could significantly undermine the positive reforms aimed at freshwater management.
To provide further weight to the scientific voice and in a coming together of mutual interests, the NZES and the New Zealand Freshwater Sciences Society (NZFSS) made a point of supporting each societies submission on both issues.
What happens now? The ‘word on the street’ is that Parliament is likely to pass the Resource Management Reform Bill into Act later this year—it will be interesting how much influence the public submissions will have on the final set of proposed reforms. On a bad day, the cynic in me speaks loudest and my money would be on not very much.
However, bad days and cynics can be ignored, but what mustn’t be ignored is the value of giving a voice to the wealth of ecological knowledge and experience the NZES collectively holds, and the power rational, evidence-based debate brings to decision making.
That only leaves me to ask—can our voice be a bit louder?And yes, I think it can10. Those scientists, resource managers, and retired activists amongst us may wish to lend
wisdom and status to public statements, press releases, or actions (just as many of you have in the past11 and recently12).Have a think about it.
Very large and grateful thanks to: Shona Myers, Susan Walker, Paul Blaschke for their substantial efforts in preparing the two submissions mentioned here, and to several other NZES members, including the NZES Council, for helpful contributions and comments under very tight (streamlined!) timeframes.
References1http://www.nzes.org.nz/sites/all/files/NZES_Submission_Improving_Resource_Management_March2013.pdf; http://www.
nzes.org.nz/sites/all/files/NZ_Ecological_Society_Submission_Freshwater_Reforms_April2013.pdf2A position not substantiated by the Ministry for the Environment’s own data, which indicates over 90% of consents are
granted, on time, and outside of the Environment Court and eloquently discussed by Rod Oram in his column in the Sunday Star-Times:
(http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/8400307/Oram-A-naked-power-grab) 3http://www.mbie.govt.nz/what-we-do/business-growth-agenda4The purpose of the Act is to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources.5Section 6 contains the matters of national importance that must be recognised and provided for, and section 7 contains the
other matters that particular regard must to be given to.6As echoed in national media by Jan Wright, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (http://www.radionz.
co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/20130403) and Sir Geoffrey Palmer who, along with Simon Upton, was the original architect of the RMA.
(http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/136135/rma-architect-says-changes-could-threaten-environment)7NZES submitted in response to the public discussion document ‘Improving our Resource Management System’
(http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/rma/improving-our-resource-management-system-discussion-document.pdf)8NZES has a defined process for responding to issues under public consultation and attempts to put submissions in on
issues: 1) Of national importance, or regional issues of considerable importance or with the potential to set national precedents; 2) where ecological knowledge and experience can or should be called upon to inform decision making; 3) to promote awareness of ecological principles and promote sound planning. Our Communication Strategy contains criteria to further identify priority issues. Both the submissions process and the Communication Strategy feed into the NZES Five Year Strategic Plan.
9http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/water/freshwater-reform-2013/freshwater-reform-2013.pdf10And there are some inspirational examples coming out of Queensland right now: http://concernedqldscientists.wordpress.
com/;
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/scientists-rally-for-reef-20130604-2no9s.html11Examples that spring to mind: Save Manipouri; Pueoroa Forest; Whirinaki Forest; Hurunui River; Denniston Plateau…12For example: http://wiseresponse.org.nz/
RECENT NZES SUBMISSIONS• Freshwater Reform 2013 and beyond
(March 2013)• Improving Resource Management
discussion document (March 2013)• Resource Management Reform Bill
(Sections 32 and 76) (February 2013)• Environmental Reporting Bill (October
2011)• Environment Canterbury Regional
Council’s Land and Water Regional Plan (October 2011)
• Proposed National Policy Statement on Indigenous biodiversity (May 2011)
Submissions are posted on the website at www.nzes.org.nz/about/submissions
12 Ecological Society newsletter 144, June 2013
POSTGRAD PROFILE
Alexis Carteron, Lincoln UniversityAlexis has just started his PhD on drought-induced tree mortality at Lincoln University. He is fascinated by islands and their plant species, making New Zealand a perfect place to work.
Droughts in New Zealand? One would say, yes, we get them, but it’s always “context-dependent”. The conditions required for a drought vary from place to place. Only few consecutive dry days in a rainforest could be extreme for the organisms there, especially those which can’t move to wetter locations! In other parts of the world rain may almost never reach the ground and when it does so life blooms as species race to make use of the scarce resource.
The last summer has been particularly dry in New Zealand, driving home why it is important to understand water stress on plants. One objective of my PhD research is to document past events of large-scale drought-induced tree mortality across New Zealand. Over such a large area this task is complicated, which is why I am asking for assistance from nature watchers. As Peter Wardle mentioned when writing about drought and plant mortality “too often, the evidence is noted but seldom put on permanent record” (NZ Botanical Society newsletter, June 2001). If you want to share any observations made on the effects of droughts on plants (particularly trees), I would be pleased to hear from you ([email protected]).
I am also very interested in research on plant functional traits that allow plants to make a living in a given environment. These traits vary among species (vive la différence!) and across environmental gradients, including rainfall gradient. During my thesis I will attempt to determine which traits best explain drought sensitivity in trees. This will improve our understanding of tree relations with water, forest dynamics, and aid predictions of forest responses to future extreme droughts.
ECOTONES
Bruce Burns, University of Auckland
A selection of newly published research on or relevant to New Zealand ecology (except that published in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology)
Mast seeding cue revealedMast seeding is the synchronous, highly variable seed production among years in a population of perennial plants, and is a feature of many species in New Zealand. What cue or cues lead to this synchronisation has been the subject of much research, not only to understand the underlying selective processes, but to be able to predict large seed crops for management of consequent population irruptions of consumers. Up until now, warm temperatures during the growing season have been frequently associated with large seed crops in the following season. Kelly et al. (2013), however, present evidence that mast seeding plants respond more strongly to the difference in the mean temperatures in the growing seasons 1 and 2 years prior to seed production (ΔT). They used 26 mast-seeding data sets from New Zealand spanning 15 species in five plant families and compared several models based on temperatures to predict mast seeding behaviour. Of all the models tested, including the previous summer model, the ΔT model provided the best fit, and they considered that ΔT is likely the climate cue used by these plants. If this is so, then there are several major implications: it predicts that masting will be unaffected by increasing mean temperatures under climate change; it explains the rarity of consecutive high-seed years; and it will greatly improve our ability to predict when masting will occur and to prepare for the flow-on ecosystem effects.Kelly D, Geldenhuis A, James A, Holland EP, Plank MJ, Brockie RE, Cowan PE, Harper GA, Lee WG, Maitland MJ,
Mark AF, Mills JA, Wilson PR, Byrom AE 2013. Of mast and mean: differential-temperature cue makes mast seeding insensitive to climate change. Ecology Letters 16: 90-98. DOI: 10.1111/ele.12020
Southern beeches including Nothofagus fusca (pictured) are susceptible to large-scale drought-induced mortality.
Ecological Society newsletter 144, June 2013 13
Progress on biocontrol for Tradescantia fluminensisTradescantia fluminensis is a highly invasive plant species in New Zealand. It can form dense monospecific mats in forest understories with a dry biomass of 1kg per m2 and this mat can completely suppress all seedling regeneration. There is much concern over its effects, and control attempts so far have been uniformly difficult and expensive. Fowler et al. (2013) have now documented a programme to find biocontrol agents for T. fluminensis from its native Brazil and introduce these into New Zealand. In Brazil, nine fungi and ten herbivorous insect species live on T. fluminensis, and the plant is a ‘background’ plant in most forests where it occurs with high foliar damage levels observed. Of these species identified in Brazil, three beetles, which attack leaves, shoot tips and stems respectively, were prioritised as potential biocontrol agents, and have been host-tested to confirm their specificity to T. fluminensis. These have now all been field-released in New Zealand and monitoring of their impacts is occurring. Let’s hope that Tradescantia impacts in New Zealand will be much reduced in the future!Fowler SV, Barreto R, Dodd S, Macedo DM, Paynter Q, Pedrosa-Macedo JH, Pereira OL, Peterson P, Smith L, Waipara N, Winks
CJ, Forrester G 2013. Tradescantia fluminensis, an exotic weed affecting native forest regeneration in New Zealand: Ecological surveys, safety tests and releases of four biocontrol agents from Brazil. Biological Control 64: 323-329. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2012.11.013
The hen coop effect. What influence did New Zealand’s extinct avian ground fauna have on forest regeneration?In the absence of mammals, flightless avian herbivores including moa, dominated New Zealand ecosystems from the Miocene onwards. Therefore, it seems probable that many ecological characteristics of these ecosystems would have been shaped by browsing and grazing birds. What functional roles did such birds have? Tanentzap et al. (2013) have carried out some simple but innovative experiments to answer this question. They mimicked scarification of the soil surface and added bird poo (hen manure) to plots within secondary forest and followed any seedling response. They also added a liquid fertiliser to some plots to try and disentangle a bird effect from a nutrient effect from the addition of manure. They found that the addition of hen manure, which had elevated NO3
- levels relative to other treatments, increased the number of seedlings germinating on these plots relative to controls. They also found evidence that increased NO3
- availability prior to application of experimental treatments reduced the relative invasibility of the forest understory by non-native species. These results suggest that the pre-human forest avian fauna, particularly through their repeated deposition of NO3
- onto forest soils, may have indirectly influenced forest composition, stimulated seedling regeneration, and specifically been part of the regeneration strategy of some plant species. Such effects should perhaps be considered in our attempts to restore New Zealand ecosystems.Tanentzap AJ, Lee WG, Monks A 2013. Increased nitrogen cycling facilitates native forest regeneration: potential for restoring
extinct ecological processes? Ecological Applications 23: 36-45.
The favourite haunts of possums in the cityIn New Zealand, brushtail possums are generally thought of as an invasive species of forest and rural habitats. However, they are common urban residents in Australia, and have also taken to urban habitats in New Zealand. Adams et al. (2013) have now published a study on the distribution of possums within the urban matrix of Dunedin. They looked at the habitat occupancy of possums spread across five different urban habitat types. Possums had highest occupancy in forest fragments within the city but were also present across a large proportion of residential habitat, with occupancy decreasing as housing density increased and green cover decreased. In the residential areas, possums were most often found in structurally complex vegetation, where supplementary food items like fruit trees, vegetable gardens or uncovered compost heaps were present, and close to forest fragments. Birds in urban areas are also associated with complex vegetation so their co-occurrence with possums suggests that negative impacts of possums on birds will occur in urban areas. This research points out that possum populations in cities shouldn’t be ignored and the potential for community involvement in controlling such populations is high.Adams AL, Dickinson KJM, Robertson BC, van Heezik Y 2013. Predicting summer site occupancy for an invasive species, the
common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), in an urban environment. PLOS ONE 8: e58422. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058422
Are New Zealand wind farms killing birds?Installed wind energy capacity is increasing dramatically globally, and New Zealand is no exception to this trend. In New Zealand, there are now 16 operating wind farms, with a further 26 in various stages of planning. Wind energy is expected to provide 20% of total generation capacity in New Zealand by 2030. Generally wind energy is considered environmentally-friendly compared to alternative energy generating technologies, however, there are mounting concerns about how collisions with turbine blades may influence bird and bat populations (Parsons and Battley 2013). Bull et al. (2013) have now measured the species identities and bird strike rates of birds at a New Zealand wind farm for the first time. At Project West Wind near Wellington, they recorded deaths of 17 different bird taxa at 18 of the 24
14 Ecological Society newsletter 144, June 2013
turbines studied. The five most common species were Australasian harrier, chaffinch, paradise shelduck, southern black-backed gull, and mallard. Mortality rates for 2 years for this wind farm were 5.83 birds per turbine in year 1 and 4.64 birds per turbine in year 2. This equated to estimated losses due to this 62 turbine wind farm of 363 and 289 in each year respectively. Although such losses are of concern, to put such losses in context, Parsons and Battley (2013) recommend comparing these losses against other causes of bird mortality from human activities. For example, many birds are killed at airports and on roads every year. Nevertheless, finding ways to eliminate or reduce such wildlife mortality at wind farms seems a useful goal for ecologists for the future.Bull LS, Fuller S, Sim D 2013. Post-construction avian mortality monitoring at Project West Wind. New Zealand Journal of
Zoology 40: 28-46. DOI: 10.1080/03014223.2012.757242
Parsons S, Battley P 2013. Impacts of wind energy developments on wildlife: a southern hemisphere perspective. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 40: 1-4. DOI: 10.1080/03014223.2012.758156
OTHER RECENT PUBLICATIONS ON NEW ZEALAND ECOLOGYAdams J, MacLeod C, Suryan RM, Hyrenbach KD, Harvey JT 2012. Summer-time use of west coast US National Marine
Sanctuaries by migrating sooty shearwaters (Puffinus griseus). Biological Conservation 156 SI: 105-116. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2011.12.032
Adams NJ, Parker KA, Cockrem JF, Brunton DH, Candy EJ 2013. Inter-island differences in the corticosterone responses of North Island Saddlebacks (Philesturnus rufusater) in New Zealand do not suggest selective effects of translocation. Emu 113: 45-51. DOI: 10.1071/MU12043
Ausseil A-GE, Dymond JR, Kirschbaum MUF, Andrew RM, Parfitt RL 2013. Assessment of multiple ecosystem services in New Zealand at the catchment scale. Environmental Modelling & Software 43: 37-48. DOI: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2013.01.006
Barrett RL 2013. Ecological importance of sedges: a survey of the Australasian Cyperaceae genus Lepidosperma. Annals of Botany 111: 499-529 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mct008
Beer NA, Wing SR 2013. Trophic ecology drives spatial variability in growth among subpopulations of an exploited temperate reef fish. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 47: 73-89 DOI: 10.1080/00288330.2012.751037
Beets PN, Kimberley MO, Oliver GR, Pearce SH, Graham JD, Brandon A 2012. Allometric equations for estimating carbon stocks in natural forest in New Zealand. Forests 3: 818-839 DOI: 10.3390/f3030818
Beever RE, Houliston GJ, Armstrong TTJ 2013. Geographic patterns of genetic variation in Cordyline australis; does fingerprinting recover phenotypic and phenological patterns? New Zealand Journal of Botany 51: 3-12. DOI: 10.1080/0028825X.2012.728136
Bischoff M, Campbell DR, Lord JM, Robertson AW 2013. The relative importance of solitary bees and syrphid flies as pollinators of two outcrossing plant species in the New Zealand alpine. Austral Ecology 38: 169-176. DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2012.02389.x
Blair JM, Hicks BJ, Pitkethley RJ, Ling N, Ostrovsky I, Rowe DK 2013. A bioenergetic assessment of the influence of stocking practices on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) growth and consumption in a New Zealand lake. Freshwater Biology 58: 967-985. DOI: 10.1111/fwb.12100
Blyth JM, Campbell DI, Schipper LA 2013. Utilizing soil indicators to explain historical vegetation changes of a peatland subjected to flood inundation Ecohydrology 6: 104-116. DOI: 10.1002/eco.1247
Booker DJ, Graynoth E 2013. Relative influence of local and landscape-scale features on the density and habitat preferences of longfin and shortfin eels. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 47: 1-20 DOI: 10.1080/00288330.2012.714389
Burns CW 2013. Predictors of invasion success by Daphnia species: influence of food, temperature and species identity. Biological Invasions 15: 859-869 DOI: 10.1007/s10530-012-0335-5
Burns KC 2013. What causes size coupling in fruit-frugivore interaction webs? Ecology 94: 295-300
Campbell RE, McIntosh AR 2013. Do isolation and local habitat jointly limit the structure of stream invertebrate assemblages. Freshwater Biology 58: 128-141 DOI: 10.1111/fwb.12045
Closs GP, Hicks AS, Jellyman PG 2013. Life histories of closely related amphidromous and non-migratory fish species: a trade-off between egg size and fecundity. Freshwater Biology 58: 1162-1177. DOI: 10.1111/fwb.12116
Collier KJ, Olsen AR 2013. Monitoring network-design influence on assessment of ecological condition in wadeable streams. Marine and Freshwater Research 64: 146-156. DOI: 10.1071/MF12267
Crow SK, Booker DJ, Snelder TH 2013. Contrasting influence of flow regime on freshwater fishes displaying diadromous and nondiadromous life histories. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 22: 82-94 DOI: 10.1111/eff.12004
Digby A, Bell BD, Teal PD 2013. Vocal cooperation between the sexes in Little Spotted Kiwi Apteryx owenii. Ibis 155: 229-245 DOI: 10.1111/ibi.12031
Ecological Society newsletter 144, June 2013 15
Duthie C, Lester PJ 2013. Reduced densities of the invasive wasp, Vespula vulgaris (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), did not alter the invertebrate community composition of Nothofagus forests in New Zealand. Environmental Entomology 42: 223-230 DOI: 10.1603/EN12256
Fletcher LM, Forrest BM, Bell JJ 2013. Natural dispersal mechanisms and dispersal potential of the invasive ascidian Didemnum vexillum. Biological Invasions 15: 627-643 DOI: 10.1007/s10530-012-0314-x
Floerl O, Rickard G, Inglis G, Roulston H 2013. Predicted effects of climate change on potential sources of non-indigenous marine species. Diversity and Distributions 19: 257-267. DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12048
Freschet GT, Bellingham PJ, Lyver PO, Bonner KI, Wardle DA 2013. Plasticity in above- and belowground resource acquisition traits in response to single and multiple environmental factors in three tree species. Ecology and Evolution 3: 1065-1078 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.520
Gartrell BD, French NP, Howe L, Nelson NJ, Houston M, Burrows EA, Russell JC, Anderson SH 2013. First detection of Chlamydia psittaci from a wild native passerine bird in New Zealand. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 61: 174-176 DOI: 10.1080/00480169.2012.740656
Gerard PJ, Barringer JRF, Charles JG, Fowler SV, Kean JM, Phillips CB, Tait AB, Walker GP 2013. Potential effects of climate change on biological control systems: case studies from New Zealand. Biocontrol 58: 149-162 DOI: 10.1007/s10526-012-9480-0
Gillespie M, Wratten SD, Cruickshank R, Wiseman BH, Gibbs GW 2013. Incongruence between morphological and molecular markers in the butterfly genus Zizina (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in New Zealand. Systematic Entomology 38: 151-163 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3113.2012.00659.x
Gordon GUSO, Wratten SD, Jonsson M, Simpson M, Hale R 2013. ‘Attract and reward’: Combining a herbivore-induced plant volatile with floral resource supplementation - Multi-trophic level effects. Biological Control 64: 106-115 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2012.10.003
Greig HS, Wissinger SA, McIntosh AR 2013. Top-down control of prey increases with drying disturbance in ponds: a consequence of non-consumptive interactions? Journal of Animal Ecology 82: 598-607 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12042
Hawke DJ, Clark JM, Vallance JR 2013. Breeding Westland petrels as providers of detrital carbon and nitrogen for soil arthropods: a stable isotope study. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 43: 58-65 DOI: 10.1080/03036758.2011.616211
Hewitt JE, Cummings VJ 2013. Context-dependent success of restoration of a key species, biodiversity and community composition. Marine Ecology Progress Series 479: 63-+ DOI: 10.3354/meps10211
Holland EP 2013. Inferring changes in foliar mass and area from foliage cover: A mechanistic model. Austral Ecology 38: 121-130 DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2012.02384.x
Jones C, Norbury G, Bell T 2013. Impacts of introduced European hedgehogs on endemic skinks and weta in tussock grassland. Wildlife Research 40: 36-44. DOI: 10.1071/WR12164
Kriticos DJ, Leriche A, Palmer DJ, Cook DC, Brockerhoff EG, Stephens AEA, Watt MS 2013. Linking climate suitability, spread rates and host-impact when estimating the potential costs of invasive pests. PLOS ONE 8: e54861 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054861
Lambert A, Meynier L, Donaldson LC, Roe WD, Morel PCH 2013. Body regional distribution and stratification of fatty acids in the blubber of New Zealand sea lions: implications for diet predictions. Journal of Comparative Physiology B-Biochemical Systemic and Environmental Physiology 183: 145-156 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-012-0693-4
Lohrer AM, Rodil IF, Townsend M, Chiaroni LD, Hewitt JE, Thrush SF 2013. Biogenic habitat transitions influence facilitation in a marine soft-sediment ecosystem. Ecology 94: 136-145
Lohrer AM, Townsend M, Rodil IF, Hewitt JE, Thrush SF 2012. Detecting shifts in ecosystem functioning: The decoupling of fundamental relationships with increased pollutant stress on sandflats. Marine Pollution Bulletin 64: 2761-2769 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.09.012
Lovelock B, Jellum C, Thompson A, Lovelock K 2013. Could immigrants care less about the environment? A comparison of the environmental values of immigrant and native-born New Zealanders. Society and Natural Resources 26: 402-419. DOI: 10.1080/08941920.2012.697979
Malumbres-Olarte J, Vink CJ, Ross JG, Cruickshank RH, Paterson AM 2013. The role of habitat complexity on spider communities in native alpine grasslands of New Zealand. Insect Conservation and Diversity 6: 124-134. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-4598.2012.00195.x
Moore JR, Manley BR, Park D, Scarrott CJ 2013. Quantification of wind damage to New Zealands planted forests. Forestry 86: 173-183 DOI: 10.1093/forestry/cps076
Morgan DKJ, Hicks BJ 2013. A metabolic theory of ecology applied to temperature and mass dependence of N and P excretion by common carp. Hydrobiologia 705: 135-145 DOI: 10.1007/s10750-012-1388-2
Needham HR, Pilditch CA, Lohrer AM, Thrush S 2013. Density and habitat dependent effects of crab burrows on sediment erodibility. Journal of Sea Research 76: 94-104. DOI: 10.1016/j.seares.2012.12.004
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Norton DA, Forbes A 2013. Can exotic pine trees assist in restoration? Applied Vegetation Science 16: 169-170 DOI: 10.1111/avsc.12014
Olson VA, Turvey ST 2013. The evolution of sexual dimorphism in New Zealand giant moa (Dinornis) and other ratites. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences 280: 20130401 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2013.0401
Rader R, Edwards W, Westcott DA, Cunningham SA, Howlett BG 2013. Diurnal effectiveness of pollination by bees and flies in agricultural Brassica rapa: Implications for ecosystem resilience. Basic and Applied Ecology 14: 20-27. DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2012.10.011
Richardson SJ, Allen RB, Buxton RP, Easdale TA, Hurst JM, Morse CW, Smissen RD, Peltzer DA 2013. Intraspecific relationships among wood density, leaf structural traits and environment in four co-occurring species of Nothofagus in New Zealand. PLOS ONE 8: e58878 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058878
Rickett J, Dey CJ, Stothart J, O’Connor CM, Quinn JS, Ji W 2013. The influence of supplemental feeding on survival, dispersal and competition in translocated Brown Teal, or Pateke (Anas chlorotis). Emu 113: 62-68. DOI: 10.1071/MU12053
Rippon RJ, Alley MR, Castro I 2013. Traumatic ventriculitis following consumption of introduced insect prey (Hymenoptera) in nestling hihi (Notiomystis cincta). Journal of Wildlife Diseases 49: 80-90 DOI: 10.7589/2010-03-048
Ross DJ, Newton PCD, Tate KR, Luo DW 2013. Impact of a low level of CO2 enrichment on soil carbon and nitrogen pools and mineralization rates over ten years in a seasonally dry, grazed pasture. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 58: 265-274 DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.12.011
Salmond JA, Williams DE, Laing G, Kingham S, Dirks K, Longley I, Henshaw GS 2013. The influence of vegetation on the horizontal and vertical distribution of pollutants in a street canyon. Science of the Total Environment 443: 287-298. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.10.101
Schowe KA, Harding JS, Broady PA 2013. Diatom community response to an acid mine drainage gradient. Hydrobiologia 705: 147-158. DOI: 10.1007/s10750-012-1391-7
Seaton R, Barea LP 2013. The New Zealand falcon and wind farms: a risk assessment framework. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 40: 16-27. DOI: 10.1080/03014223.2012.754361
Sheppard CS 2013. Potential spread of recently naturalised plants in New Zealand under climate change. Climatic Change 117: 919-931. DOI: 10.1007/s10584-012-0605-3
Smith I 2013. Pre-European Maori exploitation of marine resources in two New Zealand case study areas: species range and temporal change. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 43: 1-37. DOI: 10.1080/03036758.2011.574709
Steer MA, Norton DA 2013. Factors influencing abundance of invasive hawkweeds, Hieracium species, in tall tussock grasslands in the Canterbury high country. New Zealand Journal of Botany 51: 61-70. DOI: 10.1080/0028825X.2012.753096
Store RG, Quinn JM 2013. Survival of aquatic invertebrates in dry bed sediments of intermittent streams: temperature tolerances and implications for riparian management. Freshwater Science 32: 250-266 DOI: 10.1899/12-008.1
Teasdale SE, Beulke AK, Guy PL, Orlovich DA 2013. Environmental barcoding of the ectomycorrhizal fungal genus Cortinarius. Fungal Diversity 58: 299-310 DOI: 10.1007/s13225-012-0218-1
Thrush SF, Hewitt JE, Lohrer AM, Chiaroni LD 2013. When small changes matter: the role of cross-scale interactions between habitat and ecological connectivity in recovery. Ecological Applications 23: 226-238
Tonkin JD, Death RG 2013. Macroinvertebrate drift-benthos trends in a regulated river. Fundamental and Applied Limnology 182: 231-245. DOI: 10.1127/1863-9135/2013/0404
Tonkin JD, Death RG, Barquin J 2013. Productivity-diversity relationships for stream invertebrates differ geographically. Aquatic Ecology 47: 109-121 DOI: 10.1007/s10452-013-9429-0
Toussaint EFA, Sagata K, Surbakti S, Hendrich L, Balke M 2013. Australasian sky islands act as a diversity pump facilitating peripheral speciation and complex reversal from narrow endemic to widespread ecological supertramp. Ecology and Evolution 3: 1031-1049 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.517
Vanderpham JP, Nakagawa S, Closs GP 2013. Habitat-related patterns in phenotypic variation in a New Zealand freshwater generalist fish, and comparisons with a closely related specialist. Freshwater Biology 58: 396-408 DOI: 10.1111/fwb.12067
Van Vianen JCCM, Houliston GJ, Fletcher JD, Heenan PB, Chapman HM 2013. New threats to endangered Cook’s scurvy grass (Lepidium oleraceum; Brassicaceae): introduced crop viruses and the extent of their spread. Australian Journal of Botany 61: 161-166 DOI: 10.1071/BT12266
Waite E, Closs GP, van Heezik Y, Dickinson KJM 2013. Resource availability and foraging of Silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis) in urban trees. Emu 113: 26-32 DOI: 10.1071/MU11093
Wakelin SA, Barratt BIP, Gerard E, Gregg AL, Brodie EL, Andersen GL, DeSantis TZ, Zhou J, He Z, Kowalchuk GA, O’Callaghan M 2013. Shifts in the phylogenetic structure and functional capacity of soil microbial communities follow alteration of native tussock grassland ecosystems. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 57: 675-682. DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.07.003
Ecological Society newsletter 144, June 2013 17
Ward DF, Stanley MC 2013. Site occupancy and detection probability of Argentine ant populations. Journal of Applied Entomology 137: 197-203 DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0418.2012.01722.x
Waters AS, Webster-Brown JG 2013. Assessing aluminium toxicity in streams affected by acid mine drainage. Water Science and Technology 67: 1764-1772 DOI: 10.2166/wst.2013.051
Williams A, Ridgway HJ, Norton DA 2013. Different arbuscular mycorrhizae and competition with an exotic grass affect the growth of Podocarpus cunninghamii Colenso cuttings. New Forests 44: 183-195 DOI: 10.1007/s11056-012-9309-9
Wood JR, Wilmshurst JM, Rawlence NJ, Bonner KI, Worthy TH, Kinsella JM, Cooper A 2013. A megafauna’s microfauna: gastrointestinal parasites of New Zealand’s extinct moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes). PLOS ONE 8: e57315 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057315
THE NOTICEBOARD
PRIME MINISTER’S SCIENCE PRIZES—CALL FOR NOMINATIONSThe Prime Minister’s Science Prizes are New Zealand’s pre-eminent annual awards for excellence in science. The Government of New Zealand introduced the Prime Minister’s Science Prizes in 2009 as a way to raise the profile and prestige of science in New Zealand. Each year five prizes are awarded, with prize money totalling one million dollars.
The Prime Minister’s Science Prizes are awarded to:• The Prime Minister’s Science prize: An individual or team who has made a transformative discovery or
achievement in science that has had a significant impact on New Zealand, or internationally.• The Prime Minister’s MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist prize: An outstanding emerging scientist undertaking
research for a PhD in New Zealand, or within five years of the date of the award of their PhD.• The Prime Minister’s Science Teacher prize: A teacher for outstanding achievement in teaching Science.• The Prime Minister’s Future Scientist prize: A secondary school student for outstanding achievement in
carrying out a practical and innovative research or technology project.• The Prime Minister’s Science Media Communication prize: A practising scientist who is an effective
communicator; this prize provides them with an opportunity to further develop their knowledge and capability in science media communication.
Applications for the 2013 prize round close on 17 July 2013.To find out more about the prizes or to enter, visit www.pmscienceprizes.org.nz
DONATE NOW! KAURI FUND FOR ECOLOGICAL SCIENCE We invite you to help grow the science of ecology in New Zealand by contributing to the NZES Kauri Fund. This fund was established in 2001 to provide resources for initiatives that assist the development of ecology and ecologists in New Zealand. As the Fund grows, it will play an increasingly critical role in advancing the Society’s goals and fund exciting new initiatives for New Zealand ecology.
Please consider a donation to the Kauri Fund, whether $10, $20 or $50, now or when you renew your subscription. You can contribute in two ways:
Send a cheque made out to: “NZES Kauri Fund” to the New Zealand Ecological Society, PO Box 5075, Papanui, Christchurch 8542.
Internet banking: credit to New Zealand Ecological Society, account 06 0729 0465881 00, identify the payment as “Kauri Fund”.
18 Ecological Society newsletter 144, June 2013
UPCOMING MEETINGS
21st Annual Hawai‘i Conservation ConferenceLiving Today, Sustaining Tomorrow: Connecting People, Places and Planet16–18 July 2013Hawai‘i Convention Center, Honolulu, Hawaii ht tp://hawaiiconser vation.org/activities/hawaii_conservation_conference/conferences/2013
NZ Biosecurity Institute: NETS 201331 July–2 August 2013Shantytown, Greymouthhttp://biosecurity.org.nz/nets/next-nets/
6th International Symposium on the Biology and Ecology of Galling Arthropods and related Endophytes4–8 August 2013O’Reillys Rainforest Retreat, Queensland, Australiahttp://6isbegia.org/
INTECOL 11 CongressEcology—Into the Next 100 Years18–23 August 2013London, UKhttp://www.intecol2013.org/
22nd International Grassland CongressRevitalising grasslands to sustain our communities15–19 September 2013Sydney, AustraliaPoster abstract submission deadline: 30 November 2012www.igc2013.com
Conservation Incorporated ConferenceWhat’s ahead for community-based conservation in NZ?Hosted by the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust17–18 October 2013Dunedinhttp://www.yellow-eyedpenguin.org.nz/conservationinc
2013 Australasian Wildlife Management Society ConferenceAdvances in reintroduction of Australisan fauna 1993–201320–22 NovemberMassey University, Palmerston NorthContact: [email protected]://www.onqconferences.com.au/events/awms2013/index.html
EcoTas13: Joint NZES & ESA Conference24–29 November 2013The Aotea Centre, AucklandAbstract deadline: 28 June 2013http://ecotas13.org/
9th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation & Protected Areas2–6 December 2013University of the South Pacific, Suva, FijiRegistration closes 31 August 2013http://www.sprep.org/pacificnatureconference
Australasian Ornithological Conference4–7 December 2013AucklandAbstract deadline: 1 June 2013Registration opens: 1 May [email protected]
Island Biology 20147–11 July 2014Hawaii, USAhttps://sites.google.com/a/hawaii.edu/islandbiology2014/To receive announcements email [email protected]
SUBMISSIONS TO THE NEW ZEALAND ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTERContributions from NZES members are sought in the form of:• Feature articles on topics of interest to NZES members• Event announcements, for listing on the Noticeboard• Conference reports , on conferences of ecological
relevance• Images, for Illustrate Ecology on the newsletter cover• Ecology news from overseas• Book reviews• Post graduate profi les
Feature articles can be up to 1,000 words accompanied by up to four images.
Conference reports should be around 600–800 words with up to three images.
Illustrate Ecology images should be accompanied by a short title and a caption explaining the ecological concept illustrated.
Book reviews of up to 1,000 words are now published in the newsletter. If you would like to review a book of interest to NZES members, please contact the newsletter editor.
Postgraduate profiles of current or recent PhD, MSc, or Honours students should be no more than 200–300 words and include a 2-sentence blurb about yourself, a summary of your thesis written for a general scientifi c audience, and a photo and caption related to your research.
Please do not use complex formatting—capital letters, italics, bold, and hard returns only, no spacing between paragraphs. All images should be emailed as high resolution (300 dpi) jpg fi les. All contributions and enquiries can be emailed to Debra Wotton, the Newsletter Editor: [email protected]
Unless indicated otherwise, the views expressed in this Newsletter are not necessarily those of the New Zealand Ecological Society or its Council.
Content for the September 2013 issue of the NZES Newsletter is due by Friday 6 September 2013.
Offi ce Holders of the New Zealand Ecological Society 2012/2013(Eff ective from 27 November 2012)
In the fi rst instance, please send postal or e-mail correspondence to:
Secretariat (society offi ce – Susan Sheppard)
NZ Ecological Society SecretariatPO Box 5075PapanuiCHRISTCHURCH 8542Physical Address:46 Genesis DriveEdendale, RD 1CHRISTCHURCH 7671
P: 64 3 318 1056F: 64 3 318 1061E: [email protected]: www.nzes.org.nz
PresidentMel Galbraith
School of Natural SciencesUnitec New ZealandPrivate Bag 92025, Carrington Road, Mt AlbertAUCKLAND
P: 64 9 815 4321 ex 7296M: 64 25 694 8139E: [email protected]
Vice President & Submissions Offi cerFleur Maseyk
The Catalyst GroupPO Box 362PALMERSTON NORTH 4440
P: 64 6 358 4300E: fl [email protected]
SecretaryShona MyersM: 64 21 325 272E: [email protected]
TreasurerClayson Howell
Department of ConservationPO Box 10-420, WELLINGTON
P: 64 4 471 3113 M: 021 973 181E: [email protected]
Councillors (4)Laura Young
School of Biological SciencesUniversity of CanterburyPrivate Bag 4800CHRISTCHURCH
P: 64 3 364 2987 ext. 7048M: 64 21 668 084E: [email protected]
Ellen CieraadLandcare Research PO Box 40LINCOLN 7640
P: 64 3 321 9827E: [email protected]
George Perry (Awards Convenor)School of Environment & School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AucklandPrivate Bag 92019AUCKLAND
Deb WilsonLandcare Research Private Bag 1930Dunedin 9054
P: 64 3 470 7212 E: [email protected]
Journal scientifi c editorJo Monks
Department of ConservationPrivate Bag 4715Christchurch Mail CentreChristchurch
P: 64 3 371 3746E: [email protected]
Journal technical editorsAnne Austin
Landcare ResearchPrivate Bag 11052Manawatu Mail CentrePALMERSTON NORTH 4442
E: [email protected]: [email protected]
with assistance from:Christine Bezar
Landcare ResearchPO Box 69LINCOLN 7640
Newsletter editorDebra WottonE: [email protected]
WebmasterLaura Young
School of Biological SciencesUniversity of CanterburyPrivate Bag 4800CHRISTCHURCH
P: 64 3 364 2987 ex 7048M: 64 21 668 084E: [email protected]
MEMBERSHIP
Membership of the society is open to any person interested in ecology and includes botanists, zoologists, teachers, students, soil scientists, conservation managers, amateurs and professionals.
Types of Membership and Subscription Rates (2013)Full (receive journal and newsletter) ............................................................................................$80* per annum
Unwaged (with journal) ...................................................................................................................$45* per annumUnwaged membership is available only on application to Council for full-time students, retired persons etc. Unwaged members may receive the journal but must specifically request it.
Overseas Full ..................................................................................................................................... $105* per annum
School .......................................................................................................................................................$12 per annum
Institutional (New Zealand) ............................................... $NZ120* per annum (incl. GST and postage)
Institutional (Australia & South Pacific) ......................... $NZ130* per annum (incl. GST and postage)
Institutional (Rest of World) ............................................................. $US80* per annum (incl. air postage)
Overseas members may send personal cheques for their local equivalent of the NZ$ amount at current exchange rates, for most major overseas currencies.
For more details on membership please write to:
NZ Ecological Society PO Box 5075 Papanui Christchurch 8542 NEW ZEALAND
or e-mail: [email protected]
* There is a $10 rebate for members who renew before Feb 15 each year, and for new members
